


Little Sister

by Laurauriexx



Series: Winchester Sister Arc [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Family Angst, Gen, Overprotective Dean Winchester, POV First Person, POV Original Female Character, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Sibling Love, Twin Sam Winchester, Winchester Sister
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28802691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laurauriexx/pseuds/Laurauriexx
Summary: When Dean came to pick up Sam from Stanford, he left behind his little sister, who is Sam's twin. This is why Hettie Winchester, the sister in question, can't figure out why her brothers abandoned her, not after they grew up together and gave each other the strength that they needed. True, her relationship with Dean has never been easy, but a sudden disappearance can't easily be explained. Hurt and alone, Hettie decides that the best way to communicate with them is through an emotional letter.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: Winchester Sister Arc [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2116818
Kudos: 6
Collections: Siblings





	Little Sister

Being a Winchester? Not really a walk in the park.

There wasn’t a day in which I didn’t feel guilty about my mom's death, even though I, unlike my twin brother Sam, had not been chosen by the yellow-eyed demon as his potential heir.

The only reason that I wasn't killed was because Azazel was “too kind”.

Running away from the burning house, four-year-old Dean had to carry two children, to whom he swore eternal protection.  
Indeed, he kept his promise.

Whenever our father disappeared for months, Dean would take care of me and Sam and would always act as a pseudo-parent, sometimes exaggerating a little.

Perhaps, the fact that I was a very frail little girl made his paternal instincts even more intense than those he felt for Sam, and I wasn't always able to appreciate his obsessive behavior, to say the least.

He was even afraid that I might drown or fall while taking a shower or, even worse, be kidnapped by an evil creature, straight from my bed.  
That was why he was always onto me.

It was embarrassing, at times, to be seen in public with him, because he’d only act as a human shield. 

One time, he even got into a fight with a boy his age because the latter had dared pull my hair.

When I was a teenager, however, things only got worse.

I still remember his reaction to me bringing home my first boyfriend, Xavier.

Dean, as soon as he saw me walk into Bobby's house - that was where we lived for the time being - hand in hand with a boy, he became filled with fury.

He violently unhooked Xavier from my grasp and, after slamming him against the wall, showed him a .45. Then he threatened him and told him that if he’d ever broken my heart, he wouldn't have been afraid to use that weapon on him.

The poor victim nodded, all frightened, and only three days later he had already broken up with me, disappearing from circulation.

When that happened, I spent weeks in the throes of tears; not even three jars of ice cream a day were enough to console me.

My older brother, at the sight of his grieving sister, took the gun and headed for the door, saying he was going to kill that son of a bitch, but Sam stopped him.

That night Dean and I broke out into a terrible fight.

“Are you out of your mind? What were you thinking, threatening my boyfriend with a gun? No wonder he made a run for himself! " I screamed, full of anger.

"Don't you take that tone of voice with me, Young Lady!" He cried out, his finger raised as a father’s would be. "That boy, like all the thugs your age, only wanted one thing from you and you should just thank me for getting you away from him!"

If it weren't for Sam, who intervened promptly, we probably would have got physical.

Ah, Sam. He certainly thought rationally, which is why he and I had always gotten along better than we did with Dean.

He was quite the opposite of our brother; of course, he too was considerate of me, but at least he had never tried to kill any of my boyfriends.

In fact, he always played nice every time I introduced him to someone.

Sam and I were one, and very often we excluded Dean from our playtime.

All this depended on the parental attitude of our older brother, who, in some situations, would even ground us.

Sammy, as Dean and I called him, was very sweet to me and I loved his bone-crushing hugs.

Dean was also affectionate to me, in rare moments, but usually his hugs felt more like a death grip.

Sometimes, it was very frustrating to live with such an oppressive figure.

In retrospect, however, Dean did this because he loved me and would have done anything for me, even if that meant he had to die.  
I also noticed this when our father was there physically.

He had never allowed him to raise a hand to me, and on more than one occasion he had taken twice as many blows to prevent me from getting them.

Dean was really selfless.

I hated my father, maybe even more than Sam hated him, because he was an asshole. Not only did he leave us alone, left to our own devices, but then when he’d return he expected us to carry out all his orders as if we were characterless toy soldiers.

I immediately understood the reason for Sam's departure, as soon as the opportunity presented itself to go to study on the University campus.

I hated him a little, though, because he left us at Dad's mercy, but it didn't take me long before I followed in his footsteps.

In fact, the following year, after spending months as a huntress with dad and Dean, I joined him in Stanford.

It was for this reason that my relationship with Dean, already very complicated, deteriorated itself further.

He felt disappointed in both of his siblings, so much so he didn't even send us birthday wishes that year.

Sam and I were a little sad about that; our previous birthdays had been full of joy precisely because Dean had spent them with us, made us an impromptu cake and then given us a very improvised gift, and he’d done all of that with love. 

I realized, the day I turned 20, that I missed Dean a lot. 

Sure, I felt calmer without our constant bickering, but it wasn't the same without him. 

Sam tried to give me a nice birthday anyway and, in the end, he succeeded by throwing a party; after all, his friends were nice and Jessica, his girlfriend... I loved her.

Two years later, it had been about three years since Dean and Sam hadn't seen each other, our day was a little different. 

Dean came to get my twin, and together they set off in search of Dad, who had vanished in thin air, it seemed. 

I stayed there, however, because my brother hadn't come looking for me. 

At first I thought Dean had done it because he didn't think he was going to be away for a long time, but, as the months went by, I realized that Dean didn't want to see or hear from me. 

I don't think I'd ever cried so hard in my life, not even when the squirrel Sam and I adopted when we were kids, died.

My roommate even thought I was going to have a heart attack because I was shaking so much.

Sam's behavior also left me stunned. I couldn’t believe it, at first we were jelly and flab, each other's confidant and then he’d run away as soon as Dean had come to withdraw him as if he had been money from an ATM? 

I wondered what on earth I had done to my brothers to deserve that treatment. 

From then on, I decided to erase them from my life. 

The only time I saw them, in passing, was when our father died.

I didn't even have the courage to go up to them to greet them, either out of fear or pride. 

From that moment on, I had no further news of those two. 

Years later, when I was nearly thirty years old, I had just become a doctor and was living with the man I was supposed to marry, I saw my brothers enter the hospital I worked in, dressed up as FBI agents. 

I could feel my heart beating in my throat.

Sammy had grown a lot, changed his haircut and gained a lot of muscle mass. 

Dean was also muscular and his face was lined with wrinkles. 

It felt a bit like looking at dad, only Dean had blond hair, like mine. 

Those two were investigating a case regarding a person whose heart had been ripped off - that could only mean it had been a werewolf’s doing. 

I knew I couldn't take all that time to watch my brothers hunt, as I had to receive patients, but the temptation was too strong. 

I was dying of fear as I cautiously approached the pretend feds. 

I was convinced that they no longer loved me and that they would make a scene or something. 

As soon as I was less than a meter away from them, I cleared my throat. 

"FBI, huh?" I said, trying to keep myself from trembling with anxiety.

Sam and Dean turned around at the same time and looked at me curiously. 

"Yes, don't ask questions. The FBI always takes on cases like these." Sam answered, annoyed.  
Dean said nothing. 

"Right. Could you come with me for a second?" I asked, thinking they were acting as if they didn’t know me, for the case. 

A little confused, both men followed me as I led them to a spot in the hospital that wasn't too crowded. 

"Look at you, how cute you are, all dressed up while playing the role of two FBI agents ... I almost don’t want to slap you anymore." I said sarcastically.

Dean and Sam looked at each other, before the older one opened his mouth. 

"What, Doctor? We are two real agents and if you don't believe us you can call our superior." Dean answered, on the verge of anger.

Neither of them recognized me. 

The intense green eyes that belonged to my big brother looked at me as they used to do when we were little, when he tried his hand at one of his scoldings that would go on to impact me for years, yet they did not know they were looking at his little sister. 

How was it possible that not even Sam could realize that he was facing his twin sister, with whom he had spent most of his life? 

I was rather heartbroken, even though I should have expected it.

I was wearing a cap and also the surgical mask, since I was just leaving a surgery. 

Not to mention that the name on my tag was "H. Corner", my fiancé's last name. 

I certainly couldn't put Henrietta Winchester on it. 

"I ... I'm sorry, I must have mistaken you for someone else." I said, shaking my head, before walking away sadly.  
*

When I got home, Mike, my man, was already asleep.

In some ways I felt relieved, I wasn't really in the mood to cry all my tears all over his chest as I vented for everything that had just happened to me. 

Mike was aware of my brothers' existence, but he knew next to nothing about them.  
It would have been too long of a speech. 

What I did was sit in front of the computer and write a letter for Sam and Dean. 

Dear brothers, we have not heard from each other in years, yet to this day I cannot understand why you’ve abandoned me.  
Sammy, you and I have been through a lot, too much to ignore each other like that. What have I done to you, little brother? Have you forgotten when, as children, we would build a fort out of the smelly pillows and blankets we'd find in motels and use it to hide from Dean, so to pull a prank on him?  
Or when I’d wake up at night after having a nightmare and you’d offer to sleep next to me to make me feel better?  
Really, I can't figure it out. We had such a good time at Stanford together…  
You were my lifeline in the dark times, but now you won't even recognize me?  
Know that if I did anything to hurt you, I regret it immensely. I love you to death and I hope you still love me, little Sammy.  
And Dean… I know we never got on too well, either because we were so different, or because I didn't fully appreciate your protection.  
But there is one thing I found: your scoldings and your constant worries were only the result of the unconditional love you felt - and which I hope you still feel - for me.  
You were more of a parent than our real father, yet if you look at me now, you don't realize that I’m the one behind the surgical suit?  
Do you no longer remember your little sister, who looked up to you and wanted to imitate you when she put on your huge shoes?  
Or that when she was crying because she had skinned her knee, you were there, ready to dress her wound?  
I'm sorry I left you alone with dad and if I could go back I wouldn't do that again, in fact, I'd stay with you to be your ally against that violent man.  
You have always been my guardian angel, even if you are not a real angel, and you have given me certainties, as well as an education worthy of being called such.  
I miss my big brother so much.  
I miss you both so much.  
I love you very much, and if you are too proud to come back to me then I will have to deal with it, but know that I will never forget you. 

Yours, Hettie.  
(H. Corner, the doctor.) 

When I finished writing the letter, I was already crying bitterly. 

I printed it out and then went straight to bed, hoping I would calm down. 

This didn’t turn out to be the case, since I cried myself to sleep. 

The next day I went to work and found Sam and Dean again. 

I guessed they were back in the hospital to enter the morgue.  
Typical of them. 

Without being seen, I dropped the printed letter next to Dean, who spotted it and picked it up from the floor, because it said FOR SAM AND DEAN. 

I didn't want to know what their reaction could be, I felt that the boys had let me down too much and I couldn’t face them again.  
Still, there was a little voice in my head telling me I had to do something. 

So, that same evening, after getting off work, I decided to follow the Impala with my car. 

The beautiful '67 roaring car sped by even faster than I remembered. Apparently Baby, as Dean called it, wasn't that old. 

The two men parked the car right in front of their suspect's house and that's when I decided to reveal myself. 

As soon as I got out of my car, I took a run and threw myself on top of Dean, taking him from behind, by surprise. 

Maybe my big brother was a little out of practice. 

"Dean!" I heard Sam scream, but my twin didn't have the time to run to the rescue because he was attacked by the famous werewolf. 

Dean was on the ground, a little lost, but he still managed to turn me over and get on top of me. 

Thinking I was a werewolf too, he pinned my wrists and pointed a silver knife to my throat. 

At that moment, his eyes widened in shock. 

"Hettie?" he said incredulously. 

"Who else?" I said, trying to play down. 

"Oh, God! Hettie!" He repeated as he helped me up. "Is it really you?" 

There was a shocked expression on his face and he looked like he was about to cry. 

I opened my mouth to answer, but I was interrupted by Dean's strong arms encircling me in a tight hug. 

"Oh Hettie, Sammy and I read your letter, in fact we searched for you all over the hospital! I knew it was you, but our brother didn’t want to believe it!" He said, squeezing me even more tightly. "It's definitely not what you think!" 

The comment from my eldest sibling did nothing but instill a myriad of questions in my head. 

What did he mean, it wasn't what I thought? 

"What do you mean?" I asked, as I tried to escape his grip so I could look him in the eye.

Before he could answer me, Sam rushed over to us, holding a bloody knife.  
He had just taken out the monster. 

"Dean, what are you doing? Why are you hugging this- Oh, shit!" exclaimed my twin. "Hettie? Oh God, little sister, I can't believe it's really you! I was afraid the letter was a bad joke on Crowley's part!" 

Who the hell was Crowley? 

After Dean let me go, it was Sam who hugged me, also with a pretty firm grip.

He had grown much taller since the last time I’d held him in my arms. 

For a second, I wanted to forget about all the tumultuous emotions I was feeling at that moment and I abandoned myself in the embrace of my twin.

"Hettie, honey, you have to believe us, it wasn't our intention, to hurt you like that. We didn't think disappearing from your life would cause you so much pain!" said the younger of the two, after letting me go. 

"You didn’t? So, tell me, explain to me, why did you suddenly disappear into thin air and ignore my every attempt to contact you?" I began, offended. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to lose your brothers like that, out of nowhere?" 

"Little sister," said Dean. "We had no choice, it would have been too risky to take you with us or reintroduce you to the life of a huntress."  
"That's why we decided to leave and not contact you anymore, it was for your own good." Sam continued, his annoying, big hand resting on my shoulder.

It didn't take me two seconds to shake that hand off. 

"For my sake? You left me alone, with no touchstone, for my sake? You really are assholes, did you know that?" I shouted.  
Unfortunately, I hadn't been able to avoid giving in to the temptation to cry like a baby. 

"Little one-" Sam tried to say, with those puppy dog eyes that would always work with me, but the situation was too serious. 

"Little one, my ass!" I yelled. "Don't you dare give me pet names, not when, for eight years, you gave no shits about me and what could have happened to me! Just because you didn't think I was good enough of a huntress, you left me to die! Plus, you didn't even say goodbye! I spent years wondering what I could have done in order to be treated like that by the people I loved most in the world and now you come out with 'we did it to protect you' trope? How ridiculous. "

Silence. Both of my brothers stood there, motionless and in pain, and I was too hurt to stand there and chat with them. 

I started to leave, but Dean grabbed me by the arm. 

"Listen! Sam and I have never stopped loving you, do you hear me? Hell, you are our fucking life, Henrietta, and taking you along on board of Baby to kill off some monsters would have meant losing you!" He yelled. 

“I would much rather die in battle alongside you than live a good life thinking that you hate me!" I countered, while trying to free my arm in every way I could, but Dean was holding it too tight. 

It was as if he had no intention of watching me walk away, not when he had just found me again. 

Part of me wanted to stop fighting and throw myself into Dean's arms and tell him that I understood the reasons behind his actions; he was completely devastated to see me like this, but I couldn't just forget everything. 

"I told you to listen to me!" Dean repeated in his typical telling-off voice. "Do you really think we did all this because we didn't think you were good enough? You are one of the best hunters we know, yet we wanted to give you a normal life, which you never could have had if you’d come hunting with us!"

I felt on the verge of sobs, but I was starting to comprehend the reasons behind their departure. 

Those two loved me so much that in order to give me a chance to live a comfortable life, they had given up on having me by their side. 

They had done themselves wrong the most.  
Seeing that I wasn't speaking, Sam continued his brother's speech.  
"Hettie, please don't think we didn't want you with us because we were angry with you. We only wanted the best for you and we couldn't give it to you, that's all. We decided not to say goodbye because it would have been too difficult.  
Plus, had we continued talking to you, you would have been easy prey for one of our enemies and they probably would have killed you. "

When Sam finished speaking, his eyes were full of tears.  
My little brother that I loved so much ... I couldn't see him like that and, maybe, even he couldn't.  
Dean also allowed himself to indulge in a crying fit. 

What was I doing? 

I had dreamed of that moment countless times, and now that I had finally found my family again, I was acting like this? 

My brothers were visibly sorry and, after all, they had not done what they had done with malice.

I have to admit that I felt a little relieved, since all my paranoia had been nothing but paranoia and none of them hated me. 

I was very glad that I didn't go home after giving them the letter, if not, I probably never would have known these things and would have died thinking otherwise. 

Suddenly, in front of me I saw the two little boys who had accompanied me as I grew up and who had always put me first, instead of two grown men.  
I was too tired to keep fighting, so I decided to hold them both in an embrace. 

I was now sobbing on them, but none of us cared.

As I let myself be lulled by their almost fatherly hold, I heard them whisper words of apology.

They repeated them as if they were a broken record, as if saying it several times would have convinced me to forgive them.

What they didn't know was that I, deep inside, had already forgiven them.

I don't know how long we stayed there, clinging to each other, but it wasn't a problem.  
For the first time in eight years, I felt like I was home.

*

A few hours later, all three of us found ourselves leaning against Baby.

We’d spent those hours apologizing and promising that no matter what happened, we'd always stick together.

"Can you get us some beers, Sammy?" Dean said, after no one had said anything for a while.

Sam nodded and headed for the trunk of the car, leaving me and Dean alone.

Ah, here we go, I thought. That was just an excuse to push Sam away temporarily and talk to each other, alone.  
I felt a hint of nervousness take over me.

"Hey, um, listen..." Dean winced. "I'd like to talk to you about what you wrote in the letter."

He pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of the back pocket of his jeans.

I hated those moments, when people confronted me about something I’d written or said to them in moments of despair, because I never really knew what to do.

"Sure,shoot." I said, looking towards the dark horizon.

“Hettie, as you know I’ve always been the strict brother and, for most of my life, I felt as if you didn’t, um, like me that much. I know that I was very harsh on you when we were little and sometimes I admit that I went too far… like the time I almost shot your boyfriend…” As he spoke, Dean kept his eyes fixated on the letter, as if he was trying to remember what I had written. In the moments that I glanced at his face, I could see that he was trying his best to avoid crying again.

I gave him half a smile. Growing into the man that he was had made Dean work on himself a little bit and make himself more vulnerable. I was glad that he was finally pouring his heart out to me.

“I thought you didn’t have any idea that I was doing all of that to protect you, because I didn’t want you to get hurt. However, when I read your letter I learned that you had come to the realization that I did all that out of my abiding love for you. You also said that...um, I was your guardian angel. I was really touched by that, not only because I’d always felt this need to be your superhero, but I also sent an actual angel to look out for you. He did that for the last four years. It was the only way I could sleep at night and I wouldn’t have it any other way - ask Sammy. I love you, baby girl, ok? Don’t ever think otherwise. I wish I had never left you alone, but I acted out of fear. I couldn’t see you die… “ 

The revelation that he had sent a literal angel to watch over me shattered me a little, other than made me feel stupid for even thinking that he’d just stopped caring about me. 

That was the most authentic demonstration of love there could ever be. 

Maybe that was why I had always been able to avoid accidents for the last four years, someone was actually helping me. Also, angels really did exist? Wow.

What had happened to the Dean I knew from childhood?

He was fully sobbing and I can’t even begin to express how much sorrow he must have been in.

I had missed out on a lot of things, apparently. I wondered what could have happened, in order for him to become this sensitive.

“Hey, Dean, don’t worry. I get it now and I feel so silly for assuming you were mad at me. What you did was just the maximum expression of your selflessness and I will never thank you enough for that.” I said, sympathetically, while squeezing his shoulder lightly. 

“God, I feel so relieved to hear you say that. Know that there wasn’t a day when I didn’t feel proud of you and the woman you’ve become. I knew you were a doctor but I didn’t know where you worked - I begged my angel friend not to tell me. I thought this way, you’ll be safe.”

When Dean finished speaking, I took his face in my hands and wiped some of the tears that had wet it. His face was definitely different to the touch, my memories knew smooth, boyish cheeks, but now they had a stubble, which was slightly itchy. 

“You have grown a lot too. I don’t know much about your heroics, but I guess that you saved a life or two out there, so I’m proud of you too, big brother.” I said, my voice sweet and soothing.

Dean smiled at that. He put a hand on mine and squeezed gently. 

Before he could say anything else that resembled one of his dreaded chick flick moments, our brother came back with three beers.

“What is all this affection and why am I not included in it?” Sam pouted, pretending to be offended.

“Ah, Sammy, I had certainly not missed your childish jealousy.” I joked, turning my cute gesture on our big brother into a hug, just to tease my twin a little more.  
Lies, I had missed it in an extreme way and I’m sure he knew. I just wanted to play a little, indulge in the typical sibling disputes that I had been deprived of for so long.

Sam stuck his tongue out at us, but I could see he was having a bit of fun. “Here. Take these beers you asshats.”

Dean and I pulled away from the embrace and looked at each other. We both rolled our eyes at the same time. 

“Screw you, jerkface, you’re just butthurt over the fact that I’m her favorite brother.” Dean responded playfully, while yanking two bottles from his younger brother’s grasp. Before doing that, though, he opened all three with his ring.

“If you say so.” Sammy replied as he took a sip of his alcoholic beverage. 

Dean scoffed as if Sam had insulted him in an outrageous way.  
I couldn’t keep myself from bursting out laughing at what I was witnessing. 

“I don’t have a favorite, you silly geese. I hate you two equally.” I teased. 

All three of us were sitting on top of Baby, now, me being in the middle, one arm resting on Sam’s shoulder.

“About that.” Said the oldest sibling. He gave me a look that only meant he knew that I was hiding something. “It’s because someone else holds your heart, isn’t it?”

I played dumb, raising my shoulders. “No idea where you’re talking about.” 

“Right, maybe we should ask Mike.” Sam added, nudging me in the ribs.

Of course, they knew about my fiancé. Man, there wasn’t a thing those two hadn’t found out about me, then. Except which hospital I worked at. 

“You figured me out. Guilty. He’s my husband to be.” I almost whispered, shily, a bit scared of what they thought of him.

“I hear he’s cool, we need to get dinner with him, sometime.” Dean smirked.

That was a relief. My overprotective brother thinking my fiancé was cool? That was the most sureal thing I had ever heard, coming from his mouth.

“Also he’s a hunter. Double the fun.” Sam commented.

My eyes widened in shock. Mike? A hunter? What a surprise. I never would have imagined I was going to marry a hunter in disguise. That was why I had never seen his workplace and why he would often come home with a wound or two.

I figured he thought it would be best to keep that part of his life hidden. He was going to get a bolt out of the blue, once I would have told him that I was also familiar with his real job.

“Really? Oh, wow, I’m taken aback. He and I are going to have a lot to talk about.” I exclaimed, still in disbelief. I wasn’t upset, though, if anything I could be myself completely, when around him.

“He better not cheat on you or do anything against your will because, I swear to you, I’ll cut his throat off when we’re on a hunt together.” There it was, Dean’s extreme protection mode activated. I was about to whine about him being the same old older brother I remembered, but his mention of a hunt turned out to be more important.

“Wait a minute, you said on a hunt? You mean, you want us all to do it together? Us and Mike?” I asked, excited. That would have been a dream come true, hunting with my brothers and my husband, not needing to choose between one hunting partner or another.

Both my siblings nodded. 

“This way you won’t have to drop that guy if you want to get back on track.” came Sam’s answer.

He didn’t need to tell me twice. 

“That would be awesome, thanks!” I squealed, wrapping my arms around their shoulders and pulling them closer. 

“Keep yourself together, though. You’re a bit rusty, so you need to prove to us that you can still do this. “ Dean warned, but I didn’t worry, because I knew that just a small training would have given me the ability to fight the bad guys.

I knew that going on hunts with them was only going to be the beginning and it certainly wouldn’t have solved all our problems, but I was still happy.

We were going to be a family again, they would have accepted my partner and made him their family as well, so I didn’t want the negative thoughts to invade my mind.

Obviously, it would have taken a long time to convince Mike into coming with us, and we surely would have had an interesting chat regarding our mutual choice to conceal our true nature, but I was certain that he would have tagged along.

Life, after what had felt like an eternity, was good.


End file.
